"Funny how he wasn't satisfied with it the first time and released the movie anyway. "

I always love this defense. You would be every directors dream with that stance.

No movie would be released if the director was allowed to work on it until it's perfected. 100% of the directors out there wish they could have done something different during filming. It's part of the nature of film. It does not make them hypocrites, nor does it mean that what the filmed originally was what they actually wanted to put to cell.

Lucas is one of the few who goes back and makes those changes. Like it or not, every director wishes he/she could do the same to their films....not always to the extent that Lucas has, but they do none the less.

This notion that Lucas should have done scenes "the way he wanted" the first time is ridiculous! Film isn't that stagnant, and the directors idea's change with time.

Of course....most are. But EVERY SINGLE ONE of them has some things that they'd wish they had done differently. Doesn't mean they'll go back and actually change something, but there is always something that didn't work the way they wanted it, or something they changed their minds on.

I'm not justifying what Lucas does. I'm just saying this excuse "well, why would he release an only 1/2 finished film!?" is silly. Films are on INSANE time schedules...if he hadn't had the Death Star battle filmed by dead line, the movie would have been released without the Death Star battle (or scrapped all together).

But I thought he doesn't pay attention to his audience? Strange that he'd poll them to see if they liked Jar Jar, if he doesn't pay attention to them...

And there's the fabled pwned.

<< I'm not lying to myself. I noticed these films weren't perfect and I moved on with my life. but if you look at the exit polls conducted by 20th century Fox in the weeks surrounding the release of TPM, you would see that Jar-Jar was a huge hit with his target audience: Children, and women. >>

Now who's lying to themselves again? I forget. Are these exist polls all well documented? Do we have access to them? Or is this just something Lucas has told us? If *I* look at the "exit polls"? Can I?

GO-MER, I HAVE LOTS OF NON-SW FANATIC FRIENDS...

... One upstanding, mature couple (the husband having been an ol' SW fan back when he was a kid, but is all entrenched in adulthood now) saw TPM. The WIFE hated the film. She didn't like Darth Maul's "devil appearance", the "virgin birth" aspect, and she also didn't like Jar Jar Binks. The husband enjoyed the film quite a bit, he was stoked. But he didn't like Jar Jar Binks.

Another upstanding, mature couple I knew, heard of my wife and I having seen the film so many times, and just factually was like, "Oh, but that one wasn't very good." Jar Jar didn't seem to have changed the wife's mind on matters.

ANOTHER couple (all of these are people who are NOT big internet users, btw), saw it, and were kind of "eh" with it. The woman liked it less than the husband -- who's black, and seemed to be indifferent to Jar Jar, who he saw as definately intentionally "black". I don't think it endeared Jar Jar to either of them.

When AOTC came out, a younger couple we're friends with were like, "This one we liked," and while they thought the last one was okay, they didn't really love it (nor Jar Jar).

Then there's my wife -- we joke some Jar Jar dialogue around now and then, and we don't vehemently hate Jar Jar like many on the internet act as they do -- but she'd rather less of him, he wasn't a "hit" with her.

Lots of women, and none of them thought Jar Jar was a hit. So who's lying to themselves?

<< Who came up with Boba Fett? >>

That's a good question. I might research the hell out of it one day -- but here's a list of people who're vastly important to the creation of Boba Fett, who Lucas only probably called "bounty hunter" in his scripts.

THE BIRTH OF BOBA FETT...

Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston designed Boba Fett's appearance (in one such design, Boba wears the poncho of "The Man With No Name"), from Lucas's bare bones scripts (you see how Lucas "creates" -- he comes up with a character-type, bounty-hunter, diner-owner, Jedi, evil-general -- and then someone else brings them to life, which he'll then "okay"). Cartoon company, Nelvana Studios, created the story and portrayal (with help from Lucas) for the STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL's cartoon segment (the only redeemable segment in that piece of crap), which was Boba's first appearance. Lawrence Kasdan wrote his parts in ESB, in which the bounty-hunter's name is never spoken. Jeremy Bulloch gave the in costume performance, in which he added the head tilts, stances and mannerisms of Clint Eastwood. Then Jason Wingreen gave Boba his Clint Eastwood-esque voice over.

The things brought to the table by THESE people, won fans over. Yes, Lucas is included, but NOT exclusive.

<< because the fans seemed to like him, it was a no brainer to utilize him in the prequels. How was he used? He was involved in events that are integral to the story of the prequels. >>

But I thought Lucas didn't pay attention to the fan reaction? , consider yourself pwned once again on that point. So yeah -- a character he didn't think was going to be liked (cause of what he did to Han) ends up becoming an integral centerpiece of the SAGA... after fans show how much they liked him.

<< Not to mention a lot of hard core Boba Fett fans were a little upset that Boba's inclusion in the prequels negates a lot of what he did in the expanded universe. >>

Yeah, we're not talking about how many times Lucas poorly executes his ideas, we're talking about how he DOES give into the fans.

<< To act like your attempts to hold yourself up as knowing more about this than Lucas does is somehow endearing yourself to him in such a way that he would actually take notes from you is complete and utter folly. >>

I'm not attempting to "endear" myself. I'm well aware of the collective influence of people *like* me, however. Lucas (obviously) DOES pay attention to his fans, so I'm more than happy to echo the average sentiment (good and bad) for aspects of TPM, AOTC, etc.

You would have to first show me what he was going to do before the "Fans" made him change his mind on using him in the prequels. What did Lucas tell us in an Interview that the last character we would see in the prequels would be Boba Fett? And then did the fans call Lucas names and insist he doesn't know what he was doing, and should use Boba? Was an "internet pettition" formed? How many signatures did it get? Did Lucas ever mention how he changed his mind because of the fan outcry?

He hears the fan opinion, but if it doesn't fit within what he's trying to do, then forget it.

Lucas contradicted himself when he both said he polled audiences for their opinion on something, and yet that he doesn't pay attention to the audience.

One of the above statements makes the other a lie. Which is it?

You, GO-MER, choose to ignore the examples of all the women I know who did NOT like Jar Jar Binks (in fact, I've never met a woman who was like, "Hey, I liked Jar Jar," only one guy... who's changed his mind since then, but that's a different discussion). These examples, in my mind, negate company spin from Lucas on the matter, and his "credibility" in the matter is shot with his above contradiction.

Lucas was "surprised" by the OBVIOUS enthusiasm fans had for Boba Fett. Why? Because from HIS perspective, he was only a bounty-hunter who put Han & Co. in harm's way. But the FANS saw ALL of the various creators' end-product, and enjoyed the hell out of him. So while he was insignificant in the script, he took on (through the audience and fans) a life of his own. Suddenly, this "minor" character in Lucas's eyes, is being placed in a rather important position in the STAR WARS SAGA.

No movie would be released if the director was allowed to work on it until it's perfected. 100% of the directors out there wish they could have done something different during filming. It's part of the nature of film. It does not make them hypocrites, nor does it mean that what the filmed originally was what they actually wanted to put to cell.

I wasn't talking about the original '77 release, Puckducker. Lucas wasn't held back by technology, time, or money when he made the Special Editions, and he still released all three movies with scenes that he--without being influenced by others, if Gomer is to be believed--found to be lacking.

In particular I meant Han/Greedo in ANH and Luke's scream in ESB, two of the most disliked changes. Either Lucas is very wishy-washy about his decisions, or he listened to his audience.

The DVDs we've got now aren't barebones. They just aren't as much as we would like. I think GL didn't want to release too much this time (or mabye it was just marketing) because he knows if he realeases it again with more in a few years people will buy it again.

<< a lot of us fans were saying: Go ahead and release a bare bones version now, and a super duper set later! Originally he was going to wait until all the prequels were finished. >>

But... I thought Lucas didn't pay attention to the audience/fans? Now we've got him boosting the importance of what he once felt was a minor character due to fan reaction, we've got him polling audience FOR their reaction, and we've got him CHANGING HIS ORIGINAL INTENTION in part because fans were "demanding" it.

The DVDs we've got now aren't barebones. They just aren't as much as we would like. I think GL didn't want to release too much this time (or mabye it was just marketing) because he knows if he realeases it again with more in a few years people will buy it again.

Yeah I agree...he didn't want to release all the good stuff he has in mind at the moment. That way people will praise them when they are released again.

<< I didn't say that the fan outcry for barebones now/super duper sets later had any impact on his decision. >>

/\__ Yes you did.

Dak asked, "Who "forced" him to put out the '04 Edition?"

To which Go-Mer answered, "He had people telling him that the DVD market was going to go downhill because of rampant piracy. On top of that, a lot of us fans were saying: Go ahead and release a bare bones version now, and a super duper set later! I know I was. A lot of people over at TFN as well."

"Originally he was going to wait until all the prequels were finished."

And yet...

"That he would actually take notes from you (and other TFN users) is complete and utter folly."

I cited the priacy concerns as the reason he changed his mind on releasing these DVD's now, the fan outcry for a bare bones version was just a coincidence.

Here are some quotes from a recent interview conducted by "Empire" magazine:

[b]Empire:[/b] First the Star Wars Special Editions, now this ... why keep fiddling?

[b]George Lucas:[/b] All artists go back and change things, and with film it's even more so, because you have more constraints. Any of the films I've re-worked later on are films that were never really finished. Either due to financial constraints or time constraints or technological constrints, I just wasn't able to get my story out there complete. I always had to settle for less. So what I've done is I've gone back and said, "Now I'm gonna make it the way it's supposed to be".

[b]Empire:[/b] So only the Special Edition Star Wars films will ever be available?

[b]George Lucas:[/b] Yeah, it's the same thing with THX 1138 - there is no "original version" now.

[b]Empire:[/b] Critics often complain about your affection for digital technology.
Art is technological by its very nature. It's human. Animals can't do it. And film is nothing but a technological illusion. There's nothing real in it at all. When I first started doing digital, people said "It's not real", and I said, "I've got news for you: the sets aren't real, the actors aren't real, the lines aren't real - nothing in movies is real." It's all made up. And all digital does is give you a more facile way of creating that illusion - it allows you to tell stories you couldn't tell before. Before digital, the film industry was very focused on contemporary movies and if you wanted to tell a story slightly bigger, you pretty much couldn't afford it.

[b]Empire:[/b] And now the original trilogy is coming to DVD ..."

[b]George Lucas:[/b] ... you can watch them I through VI in a very different way than it was presented before, watching it in flashback. Now you can watch it forward, and you will have a very different sense about what's going on, what's at stake, when you know it's really a story about Darth Vader. It is a story about his son, but ... I see it as a big six-part movie split in two. If it was a book you'd go through and the first thing it would say is "The Father". And you'd read one half and then you'd come to "The Son". And each one would be in three parts, which is the way I see it. And I think it'll play that way in the end.[hr][/blockquote]And here is some more from [link=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/20/film.qa.george.lucas.ap/]CNN[/link]:[blockquote][hr][b]Q:[/b] Why did you change your mind and decide to put the original three movies out on DVD now?

[b]GEORGE LUCAS:[/b] Just because the market has shifted so dramatically. A lot of people are getting very worried about piracy. That has really eaten dramatically into the sales. It really just came down to, there may not be a market when I wanted to bring it out, which was like, three years from now. So rather than just sit by and watch the whole thing fall apart, better to bring it out early and get it over with.

[b]Q:[/b] Why did you rework the original trilogy into the special-edition versions in the late 1990s?

[b]LUCAS:[/b] To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make. Anybody that makes films knows the film is never finished. It's abandoned or it's ripped out of your hands, and it's thrown into the marketplace, never finished. It's a very rare experience where you find a filmmaker who says, "That's exactly what I wanted. I got everything I needed. I made it just perfect. I'm going to put it out there." And even most artists, most painters, even composers would want to come back and redo their work now. They've got a new perspective on it, they've got more resources, they have better technology, and they can fix or finish the things that were never done. ...

I wanted to actually finish the film the way it was meant to be when I was originally doing it. At the beginning, people went, "Don't you like it?" I said, "Well, the film only came out to be 25 or 30 percent of what I wanted it to be." They said, "What are you talking about?" So finally, I stopped saying that, but if you read any interviews for about an eight- or nine-year period there, it was all about how disappointed I was and how unhappy I was and what a dismal experience it was. You know, it's too bad you need to get kind of half a job done and never get to finish it. So this was my chance to finish it.
'I'm making the movies'

[b]Q:[/b] Why not release both the originals and special editions on DVD?

[b]LUCAS:[/b] The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on VHS, if anybody wants it. ...

I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be.

I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.

[b]Q:[/b] Do you pay much attention to fan reactions to your choices?

[b]LUCAS:[/b] Not really. The movies are what the movies are. ... The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way.

[b]Q:[/b] After "Episode III," will you ever revisit "Star Wars"?

[b]LUCAS:[/b] Ultimately, I'm going to probably move it into television and let other people take it. I'm sort of preserving the feature film part for what has happened and never go there again, but I can go off into various offshoots and things.

You know, I've got offshoot novels, I've got offshoot comics. So it's very easy to say, "Well, OK, that's that genre, and I'll find a really talented person to take it and create it." Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else's way of doing it. I don't mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.[hr][/blockquote]

I think most fans, even those divided on the PT, are generally unanimous on the following:

1.) The Original Editions should be at least made availible. There's no harm in doing what Spielberg did with E.T. and offering both.

2.) The writing and acting the prequels isn't so hot.

3.) Jar-Jar was way too over the top.

4.) There needed to be more Darth Maul.

I think actually he did listen to the fans with Episode II by reducing Jar-Jar way down to the side and bringing up some "geek pleasing" sequences like a lot of Jango Fett and Yoda fighting with a lightsaber.

The action is really not the problem with the prequels though. It's the story that causes the action which could benefit more from a screenwriter.

But again, that's not all Lucas' fault either. The writer of the Oscar-nominated "Shawshank Redemption" would be writing these scripts if it weren't for the damn Writers/Directors Guild of America and their BS guidelines.

Lucas also went to Irvin Kershner (director of ESB) to possibly direct one or two of the prequels, but he turned George down. I suspect Kersh is getting a bit on in years and doing a massive project like a new Star Wars probably was a concern for him.

I happen to like the SE's now. I didn't when I saw them in the theaters. Too busy looking for what was changed and added. But over time, and the DVD's make them much more easy to watch, aside from the few changes I usually complain about.

And I never wanted to but the PT on DVD so far, but I just might after seeing the quality of the OT on DVD.

But the original edit should be made available, and I believe, regardless of what Lucas says now, they will be someday.

And someday soon I am going to re-read all of my old magazines from 1977-80 that have Lucas interviews and see if he ever said he felt the movies were incomplete or not up to his standards.

[b]1.) The Original Editions should be at least made availible. There's no harm in doing what Spielberg did with E.T. and offering both.[/b][hr][/blockquote]I think it would be nice. I don't think Lucas should feel bound to. With the way most of the people who want this demonize Lucas for not providing it, I don't blame him for not doing it. Personally I have the originals on Laserdisc, so it's no skin off my back.[blockquote][hr][b]2.) The writing and acting the prequels isn't so hot.[/b][hr][/blockquote]I don't think it's any worse than the writing or acting in the classic trilogy. All of these films have their more inspired moments, and their more throw away lines. They all have decent acting with some notable high points.[blockquote][hr][b]3.) Jar-Jar was way too over the top.[/b][hr][/blockquote]I like Jar-Jar just the way he is.[blockquote][hr][b]4.) There needed to be more Darth Maul.[/b][hr][/blockquote]As far as I am concerned Maul served his purpose in the story, and that's all he was there for.

Here's a good [link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/394542.stm]article[/link].[blockquote][hr]Star Wars creator George Lucas has defended his latest film The Phantom Menace against allegations of racism - and told BBC Two's Newsnight he blames the Internet for helping to create such stories.

Criticism has been levelled at the movie - a prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy which started in 1977 - in the US, particularly over the character Jar Jar Binks.

Reviewers have attacked Binks' Carribean accent - and have also complained about other supposed stereotypes in the film.

But Lucas hit back in an interview with Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark - and blamed fans on the Internet who took an instant dislike to the new character.

He said: "Those criticisms are made by people who've obviously never met a Jamaican, because it's definitely not Jamaican and if you were to say those lines in Jamaican they wouldn't be anything like the way Jar Jar Binks says them.

"They're basing a whole issue of racism on an accent, an accent that they don't understand. Therefore if they don't understand it, it must be bad.

"How in the world you could take an orange amphibian and say that he's a Jamaican? It's completely absurd. Believe me, Jar Jar was not drawn from a Jamaican, from any stretch of the imagination."

He said the allegations said more about the people making the claims than they did about his film.

"There is a group of fans for the films that doesn't like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough like Terminator, and they get very upset and opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike.

"The movies are for children but they don't want to admit that. In the first film they absolutely hated R2 and C3-PO. In the second film they didn't like Yoda and in the third one they hated the Ewoks... and now Jar Jar is getting accused of the same thing."

He believes the US media's fascination with the Internet created the controversy.

"The American press uses the internet as their source for everything, so when people were creating Websites saying, 'Let's get rid of Jar Jar Binks, he's terrible' and some of the critics were describing him as a comic sidekick, they came in and they started calling the film racist."

He added: "It started out as a way of just selling newspapers and then other people have sort of picked it up. But it really reflects more the racism of the people who are making the comments than it does the movie."[hr][/blockquote]And some [link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1986453.stm]more[/link]...[blockquote][hr]The consensus among critics is that the Force has returned to director George Lucas.

His latest movie, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, has seemingly answered many of the criticisms levelled at his previous movie, The Phantom Menace.

The film, which is the second prequel to the original 1977 Star Wars, opens around the world on Thursday.

Lucas, who started writing Episode III a month ago, dismisses the notion that Phantom Menace was a let down.

"That's a media perception," he says.

"I don't think I was off track - I loved that last movie and it was the most successful Star Wars film of all time."

He adds: "Sixty per cent of the reviews were great."

Lucas acknowledges that a hard core of fans will always be disappointed. He says their views receive more attention now that they can sound off on the internet.

Unpopular decisions

"Normally you'd have to go to a fan convention to hear all this stuff and nobody ever bothered," he explains.

Attack of the Clones is set 10 years after Phantom Menace. As an independent-minded director, who refuses to take a focus group approach to film-making, Lucas says he knew he had to make some unpopular decisions in setting the scene in Episode I.

"I knew when I made the film that I was doing something that was not commercially wise - but I had a story to tell and to me this is one big movie. It's one 12-hour movie in six parts and it's a story," he explains.

"When I started with a nine-year-old boy I knew there's a certain core of fans that when you have a none-year-old hero - forget it.

"It suddenly becomes a Disney movie - they won't have anything to do with it."

Many Star Wars fans are proud to say that they have grown up with the movie - it has become part of their lives.

Lucas suggests such attitudes may explain why some have been disappointed with the prequels.

"It's harder for them to accept the fact that these are made for adolescents - they're movies for young people they're not movies for 30 year old and 40 year olds," he says.[hr][/blockquote]Even [link=http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/article/1109067]more[/link]![blockquote][hr]The CGI character from 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace can't seem to get a break. Since his inception in George Lucas' sci-fi saga, he's had nothing but grief: His character won a Razzie Award two years ago for worst supporting actor and spawned dozens of anti-Jar Jar Web sites.

In The Phantom Menace, Jar Jar--a floppy-eared member of the Gungan species--was widely criticized for his Caribbean accent and bulgy eyes, which seemed to embody every imaginable Jamaican stereotype.

Did Lucas take all the hoopla about the computerized creature into consideration when making Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones? According to The Associated Press, Jar Jar has a lot less screen time in Clones. Lucas, however, denies pandering to critics.

"People have the tendency to think that you just place characters in for the fun of it," he told the AP from his Skywalker Ranch. "Ultimately, their personalities have to revolve around the plot."

In Clones, Jar Jar's clumsy character becomes a pawn of evil galactic forces, and fans seem to be enjoying the character's newly added edge.

Lucas explained that Jar Jar was designed to appeal to children. "Whenever you have a character that is more oriented toward the under-12 set, you get the hardcore we-want-to-see-a-tough-movie...kind of people getting very upset about it."

Lucas also noted that fans have criticized Star Wars characters before, including C-3PO and the Ewok creatures from 1983's Return of the Jedi.[hr][/blockquote]

"..should I just shrug it all off and accept what Lucas has said to be his one and only vision for
Star Wars? Frankly, for me the movie loses something because of the lack of options - I would guess that a real artist knows that art cannot be expressed without an audience, and had Lucas not found an audience we'd
never have seen THX versions, and special editions of his films - nor the relentless onslaught of Star Wars merchandise for that matter.
It would be fitting to give the public the choice (though I assume you'd find more people would go with the newer editions), not just to appease the hundreds
of thousands - like myself - who've invested so much into Lucas and his businesses over the past three decades, but to preserve a piece of film
history which has changed the way modern movies are made."

I appreciate that. However, Lucas came up with his end of the deal first. He gave us Star Wars, and in return, we made him independantly wealthy. I think it would be nice if he were to reconsider, I hope he does. I just don't see it as something he owes us.

I can't say how people can say Lucas doesn't owe the fans anything. Just like the person said in the quote I posted - art needs fans to be appreciated.

If Lucas makes Star Wars for himself, to express his vision, and shows it to an empty room, how can it be
judged? How can it make money. Art is judged by others, not by the artist.
And the others deemed it good. And they bought the toys, the games, the lunchboxes, the bedspreads, the gum cards, the everthings - all lining Lucas's pockets.

Artists, be they painters, musicians, comics, filmakers, authors, comic writers, are nothing if they have no fans to appreciate and pay for the entertainment they give us. How successful would Madonna be if no one bought her records or went to her concerts? How rich would Tarantino be if no one saw his films? Would the Simpsons be going to a 16th year if it had no fans?

No fans = no money.

He can pat himself on the back all he wants, but that doesn't make him money. I don't know if you're old enough to remember Gomer, but Star Wars was a crap shoot at that time. Science Fiction /Fantasy was not a respected film genre anymore and Lucas and 20th Fox took a big chance on that film. There're were no plans on making sequels until Star Wars made a box office killing that year. I still have the newspaper ads from when Star Wars was celebrating ONE YEAR in the theaters. Now a film is out on tape / DVD within 6 months.
Then Empire made even more money for him, then Jedi.

So I never want to hear that he owes the fans nothing. The fans gave him everything he has to date.

Enovak, have you ever had a favorite player on a favorite team leave for another team? Even tho that player made his money because fans paid to see him, do you think that player owes the fans anything? Do you think he should not go to another team to make more money?

The Entertainment Industry is so frustrating because half the time they pour out below average products and still charge lots of money to see them. Sports is no difference. The only defense we have is to cooperate and get the entire audience not to pay. Not a good alternative.

Well, no matter what team he is on, the team or player will have fans. Those fans pay their salary. So they still owe fans SOMETHING otherwise the team would fold from no business. (And that's a bad example because many players keep their fans no matter what team they play on.)

We need people like Lucas, or Michael Jordan to do things or make things that we can never do. They need us to support them, watch them or they have no real meaning anymore. Why play basketball on a pro team if no one is watching? Why make films if no one goes to see them?

All I'm saying is it's a two way street, thats all. Fans cannot be dismissed like we don't matter. We ARE the reason most of these people are making money.

Any celebrity has the right to piss on the fans if they want to, it's just biting the hand that feeds you.

He two wayed with those of us who prefer the originals back in the late seventies and early eighties. He continued to two way with us up until '95. He is just two waying with the people who like the newer versions now.

He will have to rely on those fans. I don't think he has much to worry about.

I think it would be nice if he changed his mind about it, I just don't see why he should feel obligated to do it.

As far as the hand that feeds you, Lucas is the one doing the feeding, we are the ones who bite his hand a lot of the time.

Now that we want something he doesn't want to give us we all talk about loyalty to the fans and a sense of obligation to honor the way the fans have supported him.

How soon we forget the onslaught of derision a lot of us spewed at Lucas from the inception of the Ewoks in ROTJ, to Greedo shooting first, to Anakin being 9 years old in TPM, to the very existance of Jar-Jar Binks, to Lucas' writing, his direction, and his very ability to make an "engaging" movie.

Where the hell were the Fans when Lucas could have used them?

I think some people should have thought about it more before asserting their personal superiority over Lucas on a daily basis.

Well, fans have a right to complain. After all, we pay for these things, and if we pay, we like to get something we like. If we don't like service in a store or restaurant, we have the right to complain. It may not do anything, but we have the right.

If I am a fan of a ball player, and he sucks, I have a right to voice that opinion.

And thats fine. But we have the RIGHT to ASK for the original edits. You make it sound like we have no business asking Lucas to release the original edit. I'm saying we have that right to ask him to do that.
Just as he has the right not too.

I find it funny that a lot of fans are upset at him not releasing his so-called 'incomplete', crappy versions.

It shows the power that Star Wars has. I have never seen a demand for an original version of a film like I see for these. Most times we get new, remastered, re-edited versions of films on DVD, yet no one complains as much as they do for Star Wars. You think that might tell Lucas something.

I think it was a great choice making Anakin A small child in the first episode. We needed to start at the beginning. I think the Prequals are great, just as good as the originals. But Lucas should of at least gave us the original trilogy. Who cares anyway, I have the new DVD set, and I love it with the changes.